The Wave

On outback highways, human contact is so sparse and fleeting that people feel it necessary to mark the occasion of seeing another car by means of the “Outback Wave”. This can be as subtle as a forefinger lifted from the steering wheel, or as enthusiastic as a window-down, full arm wave. It is so ubiquitous that you feel slighted if you don’t receive one. Truckies and locals don’t bother, but the chance of seeing a “local” 500 km from nowhere is pretty remote. When we get back into civilization, we’ll have to stop ourselves from doing it – besides the fact that people look at you funny, giving a wave once or twice an hour is a good break, but 10 times a minute can give you repetitive stress disorder.